Picture your church as a tall, lean pyramid. Now, flip that pyramid on its side so that it resembles a rocket moving through space. In your mind’s eye, draw a line straight across the middle of your rocket, from the tip to the base. The two halves making up the whole are your weekend service and small groups. Try to visualize anything else that wants to attach itself to the rocket as a force creating drag.

When you focus your energy on your two best avenues for helping people move toward a fully developing relationship with Jesus–your weekend service and small groups–you will be able to create an atmosphere that you can move through without resistance, and one that God will pour his blessing on. You could be perfect in implementing and running the Activate system, but if you allow your system to have the drag of additional competing systems, you will never see full engagement or fulfilled potential for life-change.

How much value do you place on small groups? The answer to that question will determine whether you want to be a church with small groups or a church of small groups. If you have decided that you want to create a strong, healthy, fully participating group culture, ask yourself: Is there anything I am doing in my church that is going to prevent us from getting 100 percent group participation?

If your focus has been diffused in many different directions, it’s time to narrow it down to the two halves of that rocket. Stop expending sideways energy. Great people and great organizations know that the key to success is doing a few things extremely well. Decide to be a church of small groups, and get ready for an exciting ride.

– Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas, with Jennifer Dykes Henson

The above excerpt is from pgs. 71-72 of Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups.

Drawing from the startling success of small groups at The Journey Church, Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas debunk the myths, set the record straight, and show how church leaders can implement a healthy small group ministry that gets the maximum number of people involved and solves many of the important problems facing churches of all sizes. These practical strategies will produce life-changing results.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.